When I wrote “For Those Who Occupy,” I had a hunch a pivot was coming — and that a second iteration of OWS would inevitably occur as a result, and it was this conversation that took place on PBS News Hour that sealed that hunch.
The two people featured here are Sam Adams and Jim Oliver, the Mayor of Portland and the Occupy Portland city liason, and this is the key part of the conversation —
SAM ADAMS, mayor of Portland, Ore.: Well, our concerns have not been with the Occupy Portland organizers or faciliti — facilitators, I should say.
It has been to the other folks that have also gathered at the encampment, and our concern is with a growing 20 percent increase in crime around occupations. It’s the concern about two nearly fatal drug overdoses in the camp. It’s concern with someone who lit a — ignited a Molotov cocktail in a building nearby that you mentioned in the lead-in and used the camp as sort of camouflage for his activities.
Those are our concerns, that, you know, the camp is out of balance and is unsafe.
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, Jim Oliver, what’s the response? What is the plan? Are you planning to abide by this deadline?
JIM OLIVER, Occupy Portland: The mainstream media has been talking a lot about these everyday actions and petty crimes committed by economic refugees in an effort to detract from the message of the Occupy movement.
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Each of these individual incidents has nothing to do with Occupy Portland or with the Occupy movement as a whole. Again, the mainstream media has been very clear about their intention to distract from our message by focusing on the actions of individuals.
That’s a disappointing response. In giving voice to legitimate, reasonable concerns expressed in a balanced, reasonable way, the response is: “Conspiracy!”
Which is a shame. Hours after “For Those Who Occupy” went up on the website, news broke of a man committing suicide at Occupy Burlington, a man dying at Occupy Salt Lake City, and a man being shot dead near Occupy Oakland, a place where the latter had been camping, contradicting initial claims made by the campers, who also attempted to obscure the identity of the individual in both ring-fencing the body and in providing a false name.
The first iteration of OWS cannot necessarily exist on an “All or Nothing” approach, especially in the face of the dead. There has to be a degree of deftness involved. That — up until today — the only back-and-forth talk that I know of came from letting NYC clean Zuccoti Park in thirds seems somewhat amazing.
And these are some of the shoots and buds I’m seeing that might suggest something slightly different might be afoot — such as —
“Occupy Santa Clarita will take a stand against neglected infrastructure within the city,” says a statement received by The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. “The group has discovered that Santa Clarita is home to 18 defective bridges in need of repair or attention.”
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But now, in what appears to be a first, Occupy Atlanta has camped out at a home in an attempt to prevent a foreclosure on the property and to raise awareness about the country’s gloomy housing sector.
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Occupy Providence protesters intend to temporarily move their tents so the city can prepare the sprinkler system in Burnside Park for winter, but they say they will set up camp again.
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